Stories can be very comforting. They can show you that there will be (the option of) a happy ending. They will show you that sometimes we reach our goals by choosing the path less traveled. They let you believe in miracles. And sometimes, they provide comfort in unexpected ways.
A couple of weeks ago, I was feeling pretty lousy. So lousy, indeed, that I was lying in bed for most of a weekend, not moving much, not talking much, not doing much at all. The first day when Moxie, my four year old, came to see me, she was very quiet. She didn’t know what to say. She asked me, “What is wrong, mama?”
And I answered “I’m just not feeling well. I’ll be better very soon.”
“Okay”, she answered.
When she walked down the stairs, I heard her cry. It was a very quiet cry, and it broke my heart. She didn’t know what to do about the fact that I was sick.
Five minutes later, she was back. She had brought a stick with colorful ribbons with her. She danced around my bed, swinging the stick right and left. Then she came closer, and shook the ribbons right over my head. “Are you feeling better yet?” she asked.
“A little,” I replied. “What did you do?”
“I sprinkled fairy dust over you. It will make you feel better very soon.” She beamed. She continued to come up to my bed for the rest of the day with her fairy wand, sprinkling all her good wishes over me, smiling broadly and confidently that this would help me feel better; which it did.
The next day, I felt a lot better, and when I came down for breakfast, she just nodded knowingly.
Franziska Macur is a mom; a wife; a professional gone home; a sewer; a crafter; a cook; a baker; and a life-long-learner. She is the author of Charlie and Noel – An Advent Calendar Story, and a Simplicity Parenting Coach. Passionate about simplicity, family rhythm; and a natural and healthy lifestyle. You can read more from Franziska at her blog, http://homenaturally.org/